Life saving device for submarines



Aug. l, 1933. H. F. GOOD 1,920,301

LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINES Filed Nov. 5, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Zeigl- Y sa i 66 1'( g o; 55

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H. F. GOOD LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINES Filed Nov. 5. 1929 4Sheets-Sheet 2 gva/manto@ Herber' E' Good,

H. F. soon 1,920,301

LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINES Aug. 1, 1933.

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LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINES Filed Nov. 5. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented Aug. 1, 1933 7,. l

marien srAras vr'..ll1=.r1'1* OFFICE LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINESHerbert F. Goed, Philadelphia, Pe., assigner ef hree-twentieths to FrankMaddenford, Frankord, Pa. I

Application November 5, 1929. SeriallNo. 404,938

' s claims. A(01.'114-7-1615) This invention relates to submarine rescuedeillustrated in the accompanying drawings, and vices, and moreespecially to novel means for more particularly pointed out in theappended releasing passengers and crew from a submarine claims.

in case the latter is disabled while submerged. In the drawings,

@ne of the objects of the invention is to fur- Fig. 1 is a transversevertical sectional view nish areleasably `buoy which maybe discharged ofa submarine equipped with my improvements, 60 from a submerged submarinewhile carrying one .and showing the means employed for Winding or moreoccupants, for the purpose of elevating the buoy cable.

the occupant or occupants to the water surface. Fig. 2 isan elevation ofa detail shown in Fig.

. v A further object is to provide such a buoy Awith l, but illustratingthe handle cable winding l means to facilitate thesending and receivingof crank, while held out of `engagement with the 65 wireless messages,whereby, upon the arrival of main geel 0f the. Cable Winding drum U0Del'mit the buoy at the water surface, an occupant may the cable'torapidly unwind as the buoy rises.

call for aid. Fig.v 3 is a View similar to Fig. 1, but taken Anotherobject is to furnish means of this from the opposite side ofV thebuoyhousing or 15 .character in which thebuoy is .tethered to the tubularmember. 70

submarine in such manner that after the occu- Fig. 4 is a similar viewbut taken diametrically pantV or occupants depart'r while the buoy is atthrough the bi1-Oy illlbe 01 tllbllal member.

the water surface, a person remaining withinl Fig. 5 iS a Sectional VieWO the bllOy after it o0 the submarine .may wind the tethering cable tohas risen to the water surface, and showing the return the buoy to thesubmerged boat, so thatJ tethering cablewhich keeps the same in touch 75passengers and crewmay be rescued one after with the disabled submarine.another. Fig. 6 is a top plan View of the buoy.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of Fig. 7 is an enlargedelevation of the interior this character, in which me submarine is furofthe buoy cover, and Showing the means emmene-.fi Win19.tubuiarmembertoreeeive the buoy, ployed for locking the Same in itsclosed posithetubular member and buoy being provided tion. withcooperating meansvto permit one within the Referring t0 the drawings, itWill be noted, that submarine to rotate the buoy, in the tubular thepresent invention may be applied to any type member to bring a door oithe buoy into regisof submarine 8. For example, between the deCk.tration with an entrance door of the tubular 9 and oor 10 of thesubmarine, I may arrange member. a tubular member 11, the upper end ofwhich is A still further object is to furnish theV tubular open and thelower end of which is permanently member with ejecting means which maybe actu- Closed, 01` eXemDle by. the fiOOl 10. ated from within the boatso as to eject the buoy As shown in Fig. 4, this tube is normallyoci'orcibly from the tubular memberV whenever neccupied by a buoy 12which has an annular flange 0 essary, for example, when some obstructionor 13 at its upper end to t on the upper end of the the like has fallenacross the buoy and tends to tube 11 for normally closing the latter.The buoy force the same into the tubular member, or to has a doorwaythat is normally closed by a door prevent the buoy from leaving thetubular mem- 14 which is adapted to be brought into lregistraber. l tionwith the door 15 of the tube. When these Another object is to provide anapparatus of doorways are in registration, and the doors are this kindin which the unoccupied space remainopen, a person may pass from theyinterior of the ing in the tubular member, while the buoy is submarineinto the buoy, and the doors may then within the latter, communicates atboth ends and be closed to render the'buoy air-tight, and to preat bothsides with air admission and discharge vent any water which flows intothe tube 11 from means, and water admission and discharge passing intothe interior of the submarine. means, so that water may be introducedinto the At this point, let it be assumed that the parts tubular member,and air may be discharged from are in the position shown in Fig. 1, andthat the the same while the submarine is either in upbuoy is occupiedand ready to ascend, while the m5 right position or lying upon eitherone of its submarine is lyingdisabled on the bottom ofthe sides.v sea orthe like. At such time, those within the With the foregoing objectsoutlined vand with submarine may opena valve 16, which is in a 4otherobjects in view which will appear as the pipe 17 that extends from theshell of the boat description proceeds, the invention consists .in tothe interiorV of the tube 11. Consequently, 110

a the novelv features hereinafter described in detail, when the valve isopened, the interior of the tube tube l1.

will be flooded, so that the buoy will tend to rise. However, if itbecomes stuck or is obstructed, it may be ejected by an e'ector 18, theconstruction and operation of which will be hereinafter described.

Thebuoy has its lower end secured to a cable 19, and the other end ofthe cable is Wound on a shaft or drum 20 which is journaled in thetubular member, and has its ends extending at diametrically oppositepoints throughthe Wall of the tubular member; one of the extending endsbeing provided with a relatively large gear 21 which is fast on theshaft 20. While 1thebuoy is rising and the cable unwinding, there willbe no means obstructing the rotation of the gear 21. When, however, itis necessary to return the buoy to the tubular member, the gear 21 isplaced in mesh with a smaller gear 22 that is fast on a shaft 2B,supported by an arm or leverV 24, which is mounted at one end uponahovrizontal pivot 'arid prende@ at its other @nu with an Operatinghandle 2G. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. l, .but withthe buoy 12 out of the tubular member, a crank 27, fast on the shaft 23,maybe rotated for the purpose of rotating the gear- 2l, so that theshaft 2G will be turned and wind the cable 19 upon said shaft. When theoperating parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1,

a hand operated bell-crank lever 28 bears upon the arm 24 to holdthegears in mesh, and as the gear 22 is provided with a ratchet and pawl(not shown), which prevents the same from rotating other than ina singledirection, it will be understood that such means act to hold the buoy inthe When, however, the buoy is to be released, the operator rst swingsthe bell-crank lever 'out of obstructing position, and then lifts thehandle 26 so :as to bring a lingerv 29 of the g, arm 24 into engagementwith a notch 30 on the lever 28, as shown in Fig. 2, for the purpose ofholding the operating gear 22 in inoperative position while the cable isunwinding.

It will be recognized that each time the buoy is drawn into the tubeVil., its door may not be in alignment with the door of the tube 11, andfor the purpose of obtaining such alignment, I providethe lower end ofthe buoy with a circular bevel gear 31, designed to engage a smallerbevel vgear`32 arranged on one end of a 'shaft 33, whose other end hasiixed thereto an operating handle orcranlr 34, as shown in Fig. l. Toinsure the proper alignment of the doors, the tube 11 is provided with arwindow 35 through which an operator within the submarine may watch `fora suitable indicator or mark placed on the exterior of the buoy. l

As heretofore mentioned, the tube is provided interiorly with Vanejector 18,and this ejector may have legs 36 to slide vertically inparallel guideways 37 arranged within thetube. The lower ends of thelegs are provided with ears 38 which are connected to ends oi cables 39which pass over xed pulleys 4Q within the tube and have their oppositeYends secured to a winding shaft 41, one end of which projects beyond thetube 1i and is provided with a large gear 42, actuated by a smaller gear43 that is driven by a hand crank. 44. bviously, when the hand crank isturned in the proper direction, the cables 39 will the purpose of atethering rope for the' buoy, but

4control valve 5l.

also as line wires for signalling purposes. For instance, as shown inFig. 3, the line wires 45 of the submarine may be connected to contacts46 which bear upon a commutator wheel 47 that is mounted on the windingdrum 20. In this way, the contacts may feed current to conducting wiresforming part of the cable 19, and when the buoy is at the water surface,an occupant thereof may communicate with occupants of the submarine, ormay erect an aerial, and send messages from the buoy or receive messageswhile occupying 'the buoy.

It will b'e Aobvious that after an occupant enters the buoyfro'rr'i thesubmarine, and while water is admitted yto the tube 11 through the pipe1,7, that thek air inthe tube must be displaced.

`For this purpose, I provide on the exterior of the tube 11, an airchamber 48 having a suitable gauge 49 and provided with a pipe 50 havinga This pipe is vconnected by a vertical conduit 52`tohorizontal'conduits 53 and 54 which communicate by valvedbiaiiclie`s`f55, 56, 57 and 58 with diametrically 'opposite `sides lesselaborate arrangement offpiping liasb'en provided to eliminate anyfailure of the structure to operate in case the submarine should be uponone of `its sides orthe other,` with'either 'filled with water when thebuoy is to rise, but

that when the buoy is returned to the tube, the tube will also be filledwith Water, due tothe fact that its upper end was open whileg'thebuoywas ,i

out of the tube. Therefore, suitable means are provided to `pump waterfrom ythe tube 11 toalloW a second occupant to get in the buoy'after thefirst occupant has been rescuedatthawater and opposite ends of the tube23. This more or the deck orkeel uppermost.` fIn other words, no 4surface. For this purpose,` the apparatus includes a hand pump 59, theinlet branch 60 oirwhichis connected by a pipe 61`to Valved branches 62'and 63 that open into the lower portion ofthe tube at diametricallyopposite lpoints. The pipe i161 also communicates with the upper endofthe tube by means of apipe 64 which is joinedto'a horizontal conduit 65,whose opposite endshas valved branches '66 and 67 that communicate withthe upper portion of the interior ofthe tube fat diametrically oppositepoints. VThe Voutlet ofthe` pump 59 has a valved branch 68 which leadsthrough the shell of the boat to theexterior of the latter. Thisarrangement also allowspumping of waterfrom the tubell, regardless oftheposition of the latter. In "other words, A even though the boat is lyingover on one side or'the other, by manipulation of the propervalves, thepump may be actuated to rforce water from 4the ,tube and to dischargethe same eiiter'iorly of' the boat.

To allow the buoy to descend relativelyneasyu after an occupant has beenrescued froml the same at the surface of the water, I provide means topermit the buoy to be Weighted downwhen desired. For this purpose, thebuoy may be jack-` ioodv the Waterspace,` 70. JfConsequently, :as thebuoy becomes weighted,fit willtend to sink, and

:facilitate the redraWing of .the same into the tube 1l. Ofcourse,'when'thepump 591s actuated, Vit will force water from thespace-70,1as well as from the interior of thetube.

I prefer toprovide the'buoy with a hinged cover 73- which may be lockedand unlockedl both from the exterior Aand Athe'l interior of the buoy.For this purpose, the hinged cover has a centrally dis-y posed verticalrock shaft 74, the outer projecting end of which is fixed to aliandle 75that may be actuated from the exterior of the buoy. A disk 76 is xed tothe lower end of the shaft, Aand may be turned from within the buoy bymeansof ay in Fig. 5, and consequently, when the bolts are thrown, theywill take under an annular surface 83 within the buoy, and not only lockthe cover, but will draw the cover toward the buoy, so as to provide aneffective seal. So that the cover may remain opened if desired when thebuoy is on the surface, it is preferred that the cover be provided Witha pivoted hook 84 to engage the surface'83 and hold theA cover in openposition.

The buoy may also be provided with a window Assuming a submarineequipped with my apparatus, and the submarine becomes disabled, from theforegoing it will be understood that a rescue may be had, even thoughthe submarine is lying substantially upside down on either one of itssides. When an accident happens, one of the crew i or instance, willenter the buoy through the doors 15 and 14, and then these doors Will beclosed. Now, those within the submarine will raise the arm 24 from theposition shown in Fig. 1, to the position shown inFig. 2, so that thecable 19 may unwind while the'buoy is rising. Then the valve 16 will beopened to flood the portion of the tube 1l that is not occupied by thebuoy, and of course, the valve 7l should be closed by the occupant ofthe buoy to' prevent the water from en'- terlng the jacket70. Now, thebuoy will tendto rise, due to buoyancy,.but to insure this, those withinthe boat may turn the crank 44 to operate the ejector 18 for the`purpose of starting the buoy to elevate.

As soon as the occupant of the buoy reaches the water surface. he cansignal for help, and when h e is ready for rescue, he will first openthe valve 71 to nood the ,water space of the buoy, and then operate thehandle 75 to close the buoy cover 73.

VAt such time, those within the boat will actuate v the lever 28 torelease the finger 29 and allow the gear 22 to mesh with the gear 2l.Then thehandie 27 will be rotated to wind the cable 19 and drawthe buoydown into the tube 11. When the buoy has been brought into the tube tothe proper degree, the gear 3l will be in mesh with the gear 32.Consequently, those within the boat may turn ythe handle 34 to bring thedoors of the tube and buoy into alignment. Now the proper one or ones ofthe valves in the water lines will be opened, and the pump 59, whenactuated, will force the water from the tube 11 and Water jacket 70, andwhile this is going on, the air from the tank 48 is permitted to ilowback into the tube 11 through the proper valves in the. air line.

. The parts are now ready4 for a second oneof `the lcrew to be rescued,and after he-has enteredfthe buoy; the. operation will be repeated.

Toenable the water depth inthe tube 11 to be seen, regardless of theposition of the boat, I prefer co-provide the tube 11 at opposite`'sidesfwith gauge glasses 90 and 91'. f I

From the Yforegoing description it is believed thatfthe construction,operation fand advantages of the invention may be readily understood bythose skilled in the art, and I am aware that changes may be made in thedetails disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention,as expressed in the claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a submarine having a tube, a buoy adapted to enterthe tube, means to permit an occupant of the submarine to enter thebuoy, means for tethering the buoy to the subma rine, and means forejecting the buoy from the tube, said ejecting means being arranged' inentirety at a lower elevation than the buoy and com prising legsprojecting downwardly from the buoy, guide tracks Vfor the legs, fixedpulleys, a winding shaft, and ropes passing over said pulleys and havingcertain of their ends connected to the lower ends of the legs, and theirother ends connected to the winding shaft.

2. In combination, a submarine provided with a tube, a buoy normallyoccupying the tube and closing one end thereof, means to permit anoccupant of the submarine to enter said buoy, means for pumpingwater outof the tube, and means including an air storage tank for introducing airinto the tube as the water is pumped out.

V3. In combination, a submarine provided with a tube, a buoy normallyoccupying said tube, meansto permit an occupant of the submarine to'enter the buoy, means for admitting water from the exterior of thesubmarine into said tube, a closed tank to receive air displaced by theWater as the latter iills the tube, and means for forcing water out ofthe tube for emptying the latter. I Y

4. In combination, a submarine provided with a tube, a buoy extendinginto said tube, means to permit an occupant of the submarine to entersaidbuoy, anair tank, and piping having valve controlled branches forplacing diametrically opposite sides of the opposite ends of the tube incommunication with said tank.

5. In combination, a submarine provided with a tube, a buoy normallyextending into said tube andk 'adapted to be used for transferringoccupants of the submarine to the Water surface, means to admit waterinto said tube, a pump, and piping connected to said pump and having.valve controlled branches connected to diametrically opposite sides ofthe opposite ends of the tube to permit the pump to discharge water fromy various points of the tube.

r6. The combination with a submarine and a buoy for transferringpassengers from the submarine to the Water surface, of `a cover for thebuoy, locking means for the cover, and actuating means for the lockingmeans to permit the locking means to be operated from either theexterior or interior of the buoy, said locking means including arotatable disk carried by the cover, and bolts pivotally connected tothe disk and having inclined outer ends for engagement with' surfaces ofthe buoy.

7. In combination, a submarine provided with a tube, a buoy normallyoccupying the tube and 'closing one end thereosaid buoy having aclosedtstorage chamber for Waterk ballast, means including a Val-Veoperable from the interior ofV 'the buoy for admitting lWater into saidchamber `from thevexterior offthe buoy or disoharging-waLter'frornfthechamber exteriorly of the buoy into said tube, and meansarranged exteriorly of the ftube "for pumping waterout of thetube.

8. An escape device. for submarines having for holding the arm inisluchpositionsas to cause `the gears to mesh or remain out ojiengagement with onesanother.

. v v HERBERT F. GOOD.`

